I am 36 years old and ever since I was 5 or 6 I have been terrified of needles. I have had this fear since my doctor tried to drain a cyst I had under my arm. It was so painful I blacked, and blocked it out of my memory. Up until the age of 14 I could not lift my arm over my head out of fear. A few years ago my x girl friend tried to touch me under my arm and I jerked away. As a child I had to by held down by Dr's nurses and orderlies to get a shot. In my 20's I kept avoiding them. Last time they tried I was given 4 valium and even under the effects I kept trying to stop the needle. I have been told by a psychologist that hypnotherapy may not work. They told me my fear is pathological. I get awful anxiety attacks. I have been know to vomit and start screaming. I get insulted every time some 1 just tells me to breath or looks away because to me the fear is very real, not imagined. I moved to Hawaii for a while and had to move back because state law requires people in the food service industry to have a TB test. Very recently I have gained 25 pounds and also want to quit smoking. The doctors would not give me any medication or attention for that matter since i would not be able to give them blood, and since I am uninsured many Doctors or clinics I go to refuse to try to help my situation. I know that there is a deep mental reason for my fear and I was wondering what can i do to cure this, or at least be able to go and be seen over my weight gain and desire to quit smoking.

I can relate to your phobia of needles as I also have been petrified of needles since a small child. You're also amongst very many people here on oFear with the exact same fear so at least we understand.

I'm very surprised your psychologists thinks hypnotherapy won't help and it would be interesting to know what Rick our resident hypnotherapist thinks about this.

I actually gave up smoking 2 years ago by using a herbal drug called tabex. I don't know if the drug is available where you are but it would be worth googling and taking a look into it.

I hope we can be of some help to you and have a good look around the forums as there is plenty of information.

There's ways to deal with your issues to either get by without needles or to learn to deal with having needles. The only thing you need to determine first what are your aims and how motivated you are to try to reach them.

Well my goals are to get a physical I have gone by too long by avoiding Doctors, due to fear of needle. I need just turned 36 and got married for the first time, I want to make sure I am in good health because it I need to make sure I can live a good live with my wife. I want to be able to get my teeth fixed and not avoid dental procedures due to the needles needed to make it not hurt. I have no idea what my cholesterol is, I just want to be able to go a Doctor and not have him role his eyes at me and then tell me that they can't help me due to my fears.

Well whether you can accept the blood tests perhaps relies on how much you want this information against how much you don't want the test. Altho this might sound a simple and obvious statement - it does in fact underpin the whole reason and motivation for overcoming the issue. And without a motivation, it's not likely to happen. But with a motivation you are highly likely to succeed.

Once you know you have the motivation to do it - then you can start looking at ways to minimise the issue.

I tried.... I really tried, but failed epically. I went to the last doctor i saw a few weeks ago. And I tried to prep my self for it smoked a joint for anxiety (my brothers idea and I don't like pot), saw videos on youtube, even handled a needle. But it was no use. I have had my ears pierced and acupuncture done before and i was fine, but the moment i went in to the testing room, the smell of disinfectant, the feeling of the walls falling in on you, the warping of my vision, it all got to me. I kept trying to tell my self that I need to do this (2 of my grand parents have past away from lung cancer in the past year), that i need to make sure I am in good shape for my new wife. I started to dry heave and cough, my arms started to shake like i was cold. I felt a shortness of breath, and my vision looked like was seeing thru a fish eye lens. The doctor then stopped and said angrily that he could not help me. I pleaded with him to give me advice (by this time i was crying, not over fear but of shame and frustration) over what to do. He said he didn't know. He say that i would have to find some way to deal with this. I feel that i have for seen my death, and no its not by a needle but some as simple as a Cold and me refusing to get any help over it. My drive to get blood work has never in my life been more important, but i simply can not control my fear. I have lost jobs and girl friends over this I hope i don't have too lose my wife or my life because of it too.

Firstly, it sounds like you gave it a good shot - and good on ya for doing that. Don't feel that because you're not succeeding that you're not trying - the two are not the same thing. Of course, if we try - we like to succeed and when we don't succeed we feel like we failed.
I think you have already succeeded in some ways - in little steps you have shown your motivation and took yourself off to the doctor and made the effort to get it done. I'm guessing there were times where oyu just outright avoided going?!

The things you did to prepare - holding a needle, watching a video - these are clever things you did - and they would have helped to get you into the doctors office.
But the way you describe the scenario - with the smells - was something that you hadn't had chance to prepare for. These are all trigger things that you associate with the experience of when you were younger and I think you gave it a really good go. Each time you learn something new to prepare for will make the next time easier. Don't think you're going to just turn up and overcome 30 years of fear in one go.

The things you describe as happening - walls falling in on you; warping vision; etc - these are classic anxiety feelings and there are ways to deal with these to help get control of yourself back. Have you done any relaxation or breathing exercises?

As for your doctor's unsympathetic approaches - well, I'm sorry, he was an idiot - but some people are like that. I'd suggest calling up another doctor and finding one who is sympathetic to needle phobics.

Have you thought of going to a therapist for this? And I wouldn't rule out hypnotherapy.
It may be that they can boost your confidence just enough to get one test done and then you can go back to working slowly through the fear to eradicate it in your own time.
I'm impressed that you've made the effort and that you're now able to stop and say you want to face and overcome this fear (but only for the essential stuff!)

The needle itself - that won't be a problem - the problem is overcoming the anxiety that makes it difficult to go through with it.

henryal1972 Wrote:I am 36 years old and ever since I was 5 or 6 I have been terrified of needles. I have had this fear since my doctor tried to drain a cyst I had under my arm. It was so painful I blacked, and blocked it out of my memory.

Okay, what if I was to suggest that rather than blocking the memory you have suppressed it in you unconscious and now the 'memory' manifests itself as anxiety - does that resonate with you?

Quote:I have been told by a psychologist that hypnotherapy may not work. They told me my fear is pathological.

Pathological? :roll: I suspect the psychologist has no idea of the mean of 'pathological', if they had surely they would refer you to a psychatrist?

What I suggest is you had a very tramatic experience that you then supressed and now anytime you are in a similar situation your brain recalls the event and sends danger signals to your conscious mind. There is nothing pathological about it.

Quote:I know that there is a deep mental reason for my fear and I was wondering what can i do to cure this, or at least be able to go and be seen over my weight gain and desire to quit smoking.